Compound engine.



N0. 688,6!9. Patented Dec. l0, IQGII.

T. F. FLINN.

COMPOUND ENGINE.

(Application filed Jan. 12, 1901.) (No Model.)

2 Sheetsr-Sheet I.

, Mum" w No. 688,6l9. Patented Dec. l0, 190i.

T. F. FLINN.

COMPOUND ENGINE.

(Application filed Jrm. 12, 1.901., (No Model.) 2 Sheets$heat 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

THOMAS F. FLINN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

COMPOUND ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,619, dated December 10, 1901. Application filedrl'anuary 12, 1901. Serial No. 43,011. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it 11mg concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS F. FLINN, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Compound Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to compound steamengines employing an intercepting valve under control of an operator, whereby the engine can either be run on the compound system, with the high-pressure cylinder ex hausting into the low-pressure cylinder, or the cylinders can be operated singly with independent admission and exhaust forstarting or running slowly.

The object of the invention is to provide an engine of the described character in which the parts concerned in the intercepting or interchanging operation are of simple and durable construction and little liable to derangement.

The invention consists in the novel features of construction and arrangement which I shall now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal vertical section of an engine constructed in accordance with myinvention, said figure being a view taken on the line 1 1 of Fig. at. Fig. 2 represents a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents a section on the lines 44 of Figs. 1 and 3. Figs.

5 and 6 represent a section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3, showing the interceptingvalve in its two positions. Fig. 7 represents a section of the valve on the line 7 7 of Fig. 3.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the figures.

Referring to the drawings, 1 2 represent the high and low pressure cylinders of'a doubleact-ing compound steam-engine. 3 4c represent the pistons in said cylinders, and 5 6 represent balanced piston-valves controlling admission and exhaust of steam to and from said cylinders. The guides or chambers for the valves are located between the two cylinders and are connected by ports or passages 7 8 with the two ends of the respective cylinders. The valves 5 6 have pistons 9 9 1O 10, adapted to alternately cover and uncover the ports 7 8 on both sides during the movements of the valves. The admission of steam to each cylinder is from an inlet-chan1ber 11 or 12, located between the pistons 9 9 or 1010, and the exhaust is beyond or over the-ends of said pistons, the high-pressure cylinder 1 exhaustinginto two chambers 13 13 atthe ends of its valve-guide, and the low-pressure cylinder exhausting over the ends of the valve 6 into a large exhaustchamber 14. Live steam issupplied to the high-pressure inlet-chamber 11 through a pipe fitted to atapped inlet-aperture 15 in the wall of said chamber. The final exhaust is through a pipe fitted to a tapped exhaust-apertu re 16 in the wall of the exhaust-chamber 14.

17 is an intercepting-valve chamberorsocket located between the two slide-valve guides and open at its upper and lower ends to the highpressure exhaust-chambers 13 13. The walls of said intercepting-valve chamber are ground to a taper, and in the chamber is fitted a tapered rotary-plug intercepting-valve 18, retained in place by a nut 19 and. having a stem 20, which passes through a stuffing-box 21 and is adapted to be connected with suitable operating means, whereby the attendant or engineer can rotate the valve in its socket. In the wall of the chamber or socket 17 are formed two ports 22 23, the former connecting with the low-pressure inlet-chamber 12 and the latter with the low-pressure exhaustchamber 14. The valve 18 is a hollow shell whose interior chamber or passage 24 is continually open to the high-pressure exhaustchambers 13 13, and in the wall of the valve is a port 25, adapted to register with either of the ports 22 23. The body of the valve 18 is connected with the stem by means of arms 26 26, between which are spaces which permit the steam to pass freely from the upper exhaust-chamber 13 to the interior of the valve.

27, Figs. 5 and 6, is a port extending from the high-pressure inlet chamber 11 to the valve socket or chamber 17, and 2 8 is a pcripheral port or passage formed in the side of the valve 18 and adapted to connect the passage 27 with port 22 when the valve-port is in registry with the port 23, as shown in Fig. 6, but located in an inoperative position when the valve-port 25 registers with port 22.

The operation is as follows: In starting the engine or sometimes in running slow the intercepting-valve 18 will be turned by the op erator to the position shown in Fig. 6, in which live steam is supplied to the inlet-chambers ll 12 of both the high and low pressure cylinders and both cylinders exhaust into the chamber 14. As soon as the engine has gathered speed the valve 18 istnrn ed through an angle of ninety degrees to the position represented in Fig. 5, and the engine then runs compound, the high-pressure exhaust being carried through the intercepting-valve to the low-pressure inlet-chamber 12 and the ports 22 27 shut off.

I claim In a compound engine, the combination with the high and low pressure cylinders and i the balaneed piston slide-valves controlling the admission and exhaust of steam to and eep'ting'valve chamber open at both ends to the hi gh-pressu re eXhaust-el1a1nbers,and having ports in its walls connecting with the high and low pressure inlet-chambers and the lowpressure exhaust-chamber, and a rotary hollow-plug intercepting-valve in said intercepting-valve chamber open at both ends and having a port connecting with its interior and adapted to register with either the low-pressure inlet-port or the low-pressure exhaustport, and a passage adapted to connect the high and low pressure inlet-ports when the said valve-port registers with the low-pressure exhaust-port.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH B. HIoKEY, JAMES J. HICKEY. 

